Retroist Famous Nintendo Missteps Podcast

Welcome to the Retroist Famous Nintendo Missteps Podcast. On today’s show I start off by talking about my slow adoption of the NES, then I move onto the 3 most famous Nintendo missteps (R.O.B, The Power Glove and the Virtual Boy). I also do my very first and maybe last Top 5 List (I got new talent incoming). Even though these might have not been great pieces of tech or were marketed poorly, they are really interesting bit of gaming history, so I hope you enjoy hearing about them. After listening to this episode you will definitely need your own copy on of The Wizard from Amazon (at 7 bucks it is like they are virtually giving them away)..

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7 thoughts on “Retroist Famous Nintendo Missteps Podcast”

Great podcast! I was the same way with the Atari, desperately holding on until the end. My neighbors got Nintendo in Xmas ’86 and I got…Enduro. It was no contest. I had to have a Nintendo.

I would disagree with your top 5 list, though, and put Zelda 1 right at the top. To me, Nintendo has never been as innovative as far as the games themselves go. The second quest was a brilliant add on and more than that, the game was actually challenging, while not being frustrating, something a lot of video game makers have confused in recent years. They have released far more technically proficient games since Zelda 1, but to me, all of Nintendo’s games these days are just riffs on their previous glories. Twilight Princess might be the best Zelda game out there…if it wasn’t just a complete clone of Zelda 64…and A Link to the Past…and The Wind Waker….Nintendo is still thriving, but to me, they’re out of ideas, at least when it comes to the games themselves.

Glad you liked the podcast. The all time sale’s list surprised me as well. My favorite game is Zelda 1 as well. The gold cartridge sits on my desk as a reminder of how much I loved it. Thought everyone felt the same, but I guess you cannot discount the power of Mario.

Retroist – I must have misheard the top 5, I thought it was your personal top 5, not the top 5 in sales. Apologies.

I guess that makes sense then, that SMB1 is on top. After all, if they factor in the sales from the NES set that included it (box, SMB, and 2 controllers), then I’m sure the number is through the roof.

I actually had a R.O.B. because when I went to get the system, they only had the “Deluxe” package left. That robot was beyond useless, but he was a cute little guy. I’ve always found that with these, “novelty items” that Nintendo creates, the games are usually horrible. If they would just make good games to go with these contraptions, they would succeed. I’d like to see the sales numbers on “Stack Up.” I’m sure it sold like 10 copies.